Matthew 5:43

Last updated
Matthew 5:43
  5:42
5:44  
Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 186.png
"Sermon on the Mount". Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.
Book Gospel of Matthew
Christian Bible part New Testament

Matthew 5:43 is the forty-third verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse is the opening of the final antithesis, that on the commandment to "Love thy neighbour as thyself".

Contents

Content

The Greek text of Matthew 5:42-45 with a decorated headpiece in Folio 51 recto of Lectionary 240 (12th century) Lectionary 240 GA 0051a.JPG
The Greek text of Matthew 5:42-45 with a decorated headpiece in Folio 51 recto of Lectionary 240 (12th century)

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall
love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.'"

The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:

Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη
Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου.

Analysis

This verse begins like the other antitheses with a reference to the Old Testament. "Love your neighbour" comes from Leviticus 19:18 and is part of the Great Commandment. [1] In Jesus' time neighbour was interpreted to mean fellow Israelites, and to exclude all others. In full the Leviticus verse states that you should love your neighbour "as you love yourself." Leaving out this last phrase somewhat reduces its demands. As the second part makes clear, however, Jesus was probably not making a reference to scripture, but rather to a common interpretation.

Nowhere in the Old Testament does it directly state that one should hate one's enemies, but it is implied by several verses, such as in Psalm 137 that calls for vengeance. However at several places in the Old Testament there are also limited calls to love one's enemies such as 1 Samuel 24:19. [2] At the time Jewish thinkers were thus divided, some extolled universal love, others hatred of enemies. One of the clearest hatred commands is found in the rules of the Qumran community, which stated that believers should love everyone God has elected and hate everyone he has cast aside. [3] Nolland notes that the idea of reciprocity, doing good to those who do you good, and evil to those who do you evil was also a central doctrine of Greco-Roman ethics, addressed by scholars such as Plato. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

Agape is a Greco-Christian term referring to unconditional love, "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God". The word is not to be confused with philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance. It goes beyond just the emotions to the extent of seeking the best for others. The noun form first occurs in the Septuagint, but the verb form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in "greet with affection" and "show affection for the dead". Other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to eros.

Matthew 5

Matthew 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains the first portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which will also take up chapters 6 and 7. Portions are similar to the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, but much of the material is found only in Matthew. It is one of the most discussed and analyzed chapters of the New Testament. Warren Kissinger reports that among Early Christians no chapter was more often cited by early scholars. The same is true in modern scholarship.

Matthew 5:21

Matthew 5:21 is the twenty-first verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It opens the first of what have traditionally been known as the Antitheses in which Jesus compares the current interpretation of a part of Mosaic Law with how it should actually be understood. This verse begins the discussion of murder.

Matthew 5:23–24

Matthew 5:23 and Matthew 5:24 are a pair of closely related verses in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. They are part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just announced that anger leads to murder, and anger is just as bad as murder itself. And that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment himself. This verse states that resolving these disputes should take priority over religious rituals.

Matthew 5:26

Matthew 5:26 is the twenty-sixth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just warned that if you do not reconcile with your enemies a judge is likely to throw you in jail. In this verse Jesus mentions that your debts must be paid completely before one can leave.

Matthew 5:27–28

Matthew 5:27 and Matthew 5:28 are the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth verses of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. These verses begin the second antithesis: while since Matthew 5:21 the discussion has been on the commandment: "You shall not murder", it now moves to the commandment: "You shall not commit adultery".

Matthew 5:29

Matthew 5:29 is the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the third verse of the discussion of adultery.

Matthew 5:30

Matthew 5:30 is the thirtieth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Part of the section on adultery, it is very similar to the previous verse, but with the hand mentioned instead of the eye. For a discussion of the radicalism of these verses see Matthew 5:29. Jesus had stated that looking at a woman in lust is equal to the act of adultery itself and in this verse he recommends cutting off one's hand to prevent sinning.

Matthew 5:33

Matthew 5:33 is the thirty-third verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse is the opening of the fourth antithesis, beginning the discussion of oaths.

Matthew 5:35–36

Matthew 5:35 and Matthew 5:36 are the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth verses of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. They are part of the Sermon on the Mount. These verses are part of either the third or fourth antithesis, the discussion of oaths. Jesus tells his listeners in Matthew 5:34 "to swear not at all" and in here presents examples of unacceptable swearing.

Matthew 5:40

Matthew 5:40 is the fortieth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the third verse of the antithesis on the commandment: "Eye for an eye".

Matthew 5:44

Matthew 5:44, the forty-fourth verse in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, also found in Luke 6:27–36, is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the second verse of the final antithesis, that on the commandment to Love thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus has just stated that some had taught that one should "hate your enemies" and in this verse he rejects this view.

Matthew 5:46

Matthew 5:46 is the forty-sixth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the third verse of the final antithesis, built on the commandment "Love thy neighbour as thyself". Jesus here gives another example of why one most love one's enemies.

Matthew 5:48

Matthew 5:48 is the forty-eighth and final verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the final verse of the final antithesis, and it is a summary of Jesus' earlier teachings.

Matthew 6:17

Matthew 6:17 is the seventeenth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse continues the discussion of fasting.

Matthew 6:18

Matthew 6:18 is the eighteenth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse concludes the discussion of fasting.

Matthew 6:23

Matthew 6:23 is the twenty-third verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Great Commandment is a name used in the New Testament to describe the first of two commandments cited by Jesus in Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–34, and Luke 10:27a.

Luke 10

Luke 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the sending of seventy disciples by Jesus, the famous parable about the Good Samaritan, and his visit to the house of Mary and Martha. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles.

Brotherly love in the biblical sense is an extension of the natural affection associated with near kin, toward the greater community of fellow believers, that goes beyond the mere duty in Leviticus 19:18 to "love thy neighbour as thyself", and shows itself as "unfeigned love" from a "pure heart", that extends an unconditional hand of friendship that loves when not loved back, that gives without getting, and ever looks for what is best in others.

References

  1. Leviticus 19:18
  2. 1 Samuel 24:19
  3. France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985. pg. 128
  4. Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005 pg. 265

Bibliography

Preceded by
Matthew 5:42
Gospel of Matthew
Chapter 5
Succeeded by
Matthew 5:44